Jeff Bezos & Co. may have its tentacles in everything, but these retail stocks have a wide-enough moat to keep Amazon at bay

Surviving the onslaught of Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN), yet alone thriving under its thumb, requires brick-and-mortar retailers to have one or more of the following characteristics: products that consumers do not purchase online, strong brand loyalty and in-store expertise that Amazon can’t provide in its online environment. And the following five companies are all Amazon-proof stocks.

If you’re looking to buy the shares of brick-and-mortar retailers, then you should undoubtedly purchase those that are unaffected, or as close to unaffected as possible, by Jeff Bezos & Co. Here’s why:

Amazon-Proof Retail Stocks: Home Depot and Lowe’s (HD, LOW)

When people prepare to carry out home improvement products, they often have questions about how to do the project, what tools to use for the project and what techniques to utilize, etc. At Home Depot and Lowe’s stores, consumers can find employees who can answer such questions.

In some cases, consumers have even built relationships with individual employees of the home improvement chains. Of course, it’s impossible to find employees to answer questions when one shops on Amazon, let alone develop relationships with these nonexistent helpers.

Amazon-Proof Retail Stocks: Best Buy (BBY)

Like Home Depot and Lowe’s, Best Buy offers human expertise about complicated topics. Of course, Amazon can’t provide similar expertise. Additionally, the quantity and complexity of popular tech products are increasing all the time, making BBY employees even more valuable to consumers.

Wearables, drones, virtual reality and augmented reality devices, and virtual assistants are just some of the new tech products that are likely to spark many questions by consumers.

Amazon-Proof Retail Stocks: Costco (COST)

Source: Shutterstock

COST specializes in selling products in tremendous bulk, and consumers do not usually buy products in tremendous bulk on Amazon. In January, research firm Oppenheimer wrote that Costco’s sales growth had accelerated, “thanks to merchandising and pricing initiatives as well as a stronger spending backdrop.”

Calling the company’s fundamentals “strong,” the firm noted that the retailer’s “U.S. core” comparable sales growth had surged to 9.1% in December. In January, the company’s same-store sales jumped 6%.

A key reason behind the success of COST is the loyalty of its shoppers. In December 2015, Fortune reported that 91% of the company’s members had paid the $55 fee to renew their membership for 2016.

“According to analysts, the low price of memberships and a steady return of loyal members is what sets it apart from big-box and department store retailers,” Fortune reported.

Judging by the company’s recent sales growth, that loyalty is still very much intact. Costco’s results are likely to continue to be strong going forward, making Costco stock a buy.